Canadian Mining Company to Pay $3 Million Settlement For Western Kentucky Water Violations

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A Canadian coal mining company has reached a settlement with the federal government over Clean Water Act violations at several former mining sites in Western Kentucky and will pay more than $3 million in fines.

Between 2005 and 2009, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued Elgin Mining four permits to dump dirt and other fill materials into streams near surface mining sites. But the permit also required the company to mitigate its footprint by restoring or establishing additional streams or wetlands.

The federal complaint filed in the Western District court alleges Elgin didn’t do that on its mines in Muhlenberg and Crittenden County. Under the terms of the settlement reached between the federal government and the mining company, Elgin will pay just over $3 million to a Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife program that works to mitigate the effects of mining on the commonwealth’s wetlands.